20demayo 284. The Way of Formations
284. The Way of Formations
After Xiao Yan used his soul power to scan, all the details of the formation appeared before his eyes. Xiao Yan also began to calm down and examine it carefully. The real secret was in the formation.
Although Xiao Yan himself didn't understand formations, he was, after all, a Dou Zong expert and a seventh-grade alchemist, so his perspective was far superior to that of ordinary people. He could still discern the intricacies of the formation to some extent. While observing, Xiao Yan also took out several items from his storage ring to test them.
After more than an hour, Xiao Yan had a general understanding of the formation. It wasn't particularly complicated. The formation was simple, and its function was also simple: it could only filter and gather Dou Qi.
After Xiao Yan finished reading, Chen Wei silently appeared beside him and asked, seeing Xiao Yan deep in thought, "Finished reading?"
Xiao Yan nodded, praising sincerely, "I've finished reading it, kid. You're truly amazing!"
Xiao Yan's praise piqued Chen Wei's interest: "Tell me about it."
"Although I don't understand formations, I can still see the basic function of this formation. Its effect is to absorb water-attribute battle qi in the air and earth-attribute battle qi underground."
As Xiao Yan continued his explanation, Chen Wei unconsciously nodded in agreement, realizing that Xiao Yan's insight was even better than he had imagined.
"This formation is simple, but setting up hundreds of them is no easy feat. More importantly, such a simple formation can cause such a dramatic change in the herbs. Although I haven't witnessed the engineering involved, it must have been incredibly complex. It requires an extremely thorough understanding of the herbs' growth characteristics, as well as a master of formations to design it. As far as I know, no human power can accomplish something like this with the Tianluan Clan's capabilities; it's truly remarkable!"
Chen Wei was naturally in a great mood because Xiao Yan spoke so highly of the Tianluan Clan, but he still asked, "Elder Xinyuan told you that I set up these formations?"
Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "No."
Then, as if remembering something, Xiao Yan asked Chen Wei with some disbelief, "Elder Chen Wei, the grand formation in the treasure mountain and the formation in this medicine garden wouldn't both be...?"
Chen Wei nodded without hesitation and said, "Although I had the help of other elders, all the ideas were conceived by me alone." As he said this, Chen Wei unconsciously raised his head slightly, and he was indeed quite proud to have accomplished this.
Xiao Yan, however, felt nothing amiss; instead, he was filled with admiration. The grand formation within the treasure mountain perfectly integrated the mountain's terrain with the array itself. The array within the medicine garden was both thirteen independent formations and a unified grand formation of thirteen. The array could absorb energy from heaven and earth on its own, defend against attacks on the medicine garden, and even be manipulated as an offensive weapon. Such a grand formation, conceived by a single person, was truly awe-inspiring.
"Elder Chen Wei can already be called a grandmaster in the art of formations!" Xiao Yan said from the bottom of his heart.
There's no clear standard for what qualifies someone as a grandmaster in the art of formations, but there is for alchemists! A sixth-rank alchemist in the Central Continent can barely be called a master. However, even a seventh-rank alchemist isn't qualified to be called a grandmaster; only top-tier eighth-rank alchemists can be called "grandmasters"!
Therefore, Xiao Yan's praise at this moment made Chen Wei extremely pleased.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Wei asked Xiao Yan, "Now that you understand the difficulty, are you willing to become my disciple?"
Chen Wei actually had the idea of taking him as a disciple. Xiao Yan said helplessly, "Elder Chen Wei, you may not know, but I already have a teacher."
Chen Wei waved his hand dismissively and said, "As long as you're willing, none of this is a problem. Whether it's Venerable Feng or someone else, I'm willing to take care of it for you."
Xiao Yan gave a wry smile. Yao Lao had been incredibly kind to him, and in Xiao Yan's heart, Yao Lao's status was already on par with Xiao Zhan's. Naturally, he couldn't switch allegiances at this time.
Before Xiao Yan could even refuse, Chen Wei stopped him, saying, "Don't be in such a hurry to refuse."
Chen Wei gathered a bit of Dou Qi in his hand and casually drew a few lines in the air with his fingers. Xiao Yan then noticed a miniature array taking shape in Chen Wei's hand!
Then Chen Wei flicked his finger, and the formation broke away. During its flight, it continuously absorbed the battle qi in the air. As it absorbed more and more, the light on the formation became increasingly dazzling.
The formation eventually flew into the protective array of this area, and then Xiao Yan felt the energy gathered within the formation begin to "move". Drops of rain formed from Dou Qi fell directly down, and these liquids began to nourish the herbs planted in this area as they landed on the ground.
The rain didn't last long before it stopped, and the large array beside it began to operate as if it had received a command. However, this time it wasn't rain, but a gentle breeze.
The thirteen great formations operated one by one before Xiao Yan's eyes, producing snowflakes, lava, and light... the effects in each area were completely different. Chen Wei, after activating the first small formation, stood with his hands behind his back, making no further moves. He wanted to use the scene before him to prove to Xiao Yan that choosing him as his teacher was absolutely the right decision.
After all thirteen formations were activated, he said to Xiao Yan, "This is the wondrous effect of formations. As long as one can master this art, the combat power one can unleash will far exceed that of others of equal strength."
Seeing that Xiao Yan's eyes remained unwavering, Chen Wei continued to persuade him, "I know you probably still have many trump cards up your sleeve, but in my opinion, even if you go all out, if the abandoned infant uses the formations he knows, the outcome between you will still be fifty-fifty. The formations I'm talking about do not include the formations in this herb garden."
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. He knew he had quite a few trump cards, but what a Dou Zun said was definitely not unfounded. Xiao Yan hadn't expected that Tang Qiying's displayed strength was just the tip of the iceberg.
"The art of array formations is no less impressive than that of alchemists, whom everyone admires. It's just that the inheritance of array formations is not as complete as that of alchemists. I spent half my life exploring, and although I found a path, I also wasted too much important time." As he said this, a layer of melancholy appeared in Chen Wei's eyes.
"But you are different. You are young! And your talent is exceptional! Given time, I will definitely be able to train you to become someone no less skilled than a ninth-grade alchemist. At that time, the continent will be changed because of your existence!"